Childhood's Heart
by IlikeSTRANGEpairings
Summary: A young Bowser Koopa has a secret agenda when he kidnaps little princess Peach for the first time. Is it too much to ask to have a friend? Light Bowser/Peach fluff.


_This fic is dedicated to my friend Zaerith, AKA AwesomebyAccident on Deviantart. Part of a trade, thank you so much Zae! Baby Bowser/Baby Peach fluff._

Childhood's Heart

Bowser peeked out from the post he was using as a hiding place, and not because all the other kids were playing hiding seek. He wasn't supposed to be here and he had no idea how much trouble he'd be in if he was caught. Kamek had told him this was a bad idea, and tired to talk him into doing something else.

"Dad told me to go cause trouble." The little prince had told his caretaker stubbornly, "So that's what I'm doing!"

"I'm sure kidnapping someone wasn't exactly what your father had in mind, Young Master." Kamek said nervously, "You're a little young for this kind of trouble." He added.

"You're just scared." Bowser stuck his tongue out at the old Magikoopa and ran off, vanishing from Kamek's sight.

"Bowser!" He hissed, not wanting to be to loud in case someone else heard him.

Bowser had merely snorted and kept going, wandering carefully down the halls of this strange castle until he reached the courtyard where he hid now. This was exactly what he had been looking for. A bunch of children ran around, playing hide-and-seek, at least Bowser thought they were children. They were all small, but most of them had mushrooms on their heads. Were these those toad things that his father had told him about?

They were ugly, Bowser decided. He wasn't going to kidnap one of them.

Bowser peeked his head out a little further for a better look. The group was gathered around one another deciding who would count and who would hide. There were only two kids out there that weren't those toads. One of them had brown hair, and a yellow dress, the other one was obscured by the toads. Bowser cocked his head as he looked the yellow dress. She looked interesting at least, and wasn't _ugly _like the toads. She'd do, he decided, he didn't want to spend too much longer in this place.

Suddenly the group dispersed ready to go hide. Bowser intended to watch the brown haired girl and grab her while she was hiding, but then the toads hiding the other girl moved, and he got his first look at her. She was blond, wearing a pink dress. Bowser hated the color pink, and his first reaction was to roll his eyes. Of course there was a girl wearing _pink_, what a sissy color. The girl uncovered her face briefly, and Bowser say he bright blue eyes dart around the court yard before one of the toad's called out, "No peeking, Peach!"

_Peach_?Was that her name? Bowser tried to look away, to find were the other girl had gone to hide, but his eyes wouldn't leave Peach. She counted slowly around a pacifier in her mouth, and could barely be heard, but Bowser found himself straining to hear what her voice sounded like.

A noise like a pebbled being kicked sounded next to him. Bowser jumped and turned, finding himself face to face with the little brown haired girl from before. They stared at each other in odd silence for a moment. Then the brown haired girl shrieked in terror. Bowser yelped in surprise, and ran out from behind the post, heading straight for Peach.

Hearing the other girl's scream, the girl in the pink dress uncovered her eyes just in time to see the strange creature loping toward her. She barely got out her own shriek before Bowser collided with her. For one dizzying moment there was silence. Then Bowser heard the toads calling for someone to go get the king, or something like that. Bowser's heart raced with panic, and he stood suddenly, grabbing Peach by the arm and hauling her up beside him. Without letting her go he started to run again. Peach screamed, "Shut up!" Bowser hissed at her over his shoulder as he followed halls and corridors, hopping to find the door he had come in when he ditched Kamek outside.

He happened to see an open window, where Kamek was flying by nervously. "Kamek!" He shouted. He yanked Peach up to show off that he had gotten someone. "Come on! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Kamek flew toward them the Koopa clown car just beside him. Bowser pushed Peach, who had started crying up over his head up the window, where Kamek took her and put her in the car. Bowser jumped up himself and hesitated a moment, noticing how far they were from the ground. Voices and footsteps on down the hall overcame his fear of falling however, and Bowser leaped almost gracefully out the window and landed on his face beside Peach in the Koopa clown car, just as faces appeared in the window shouting after him.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Bowser roared. Kamek threw a spell behind him at the guards that had gathered at the window, they flew backwards as the young Prince of the Darklands, his caretaker, and his prize sped off to the horizon. Bowser couldn't hear anything except the pounding of his heart until he looked behind them and saw the castle disappear behind clouds. At last he began to calm, and his chest swelled with pride at his accomplishment, but then his ears picked up the sound of Peach crying.

"Hey!" Bowser poked her, not too gently, "Quit crying." He ordered.

Peach only cried harder.

"Stop that." He poked her again, gently this time, and quietly added, "Please?" he glanced over his shoulder to see if Kamek had heard him say that nasty 'p' word. The caretaker didn't say anything.

Peach stopped crying for only a second before she started up again. Bowser rolled his eyes. Why had he taken this cry baby, his plan had been to take the brown haired one? Peach continued to sob the whole flight to Bowser's castle. By the time they landed Bowser had a headache.

Bowser tired over and over to get Peach to stop crying. He offered her candy, toys, even gold. She wouldn't stop. Lunchtime rolled around, Bowser offered her his steak, but Peach merely shoved it away and kept crying. Bowser dragged her to his play room and shut her in there with all his toys then left to eat his lunch. Kamek had his lunch almost finished by the time the prince took his seat and started eating.

"Why did you kidnap her, sire?" Kamek asked.

"Wha?" Bowser didn't bother swallowing before asking.

"The girl, why did you take her?" The Magikoopa clarified, "If you just wanted to cause trouble there are plenty of things to do around here, so why kidnap someone from the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Bowser snorted and stuffed another mouthful of his lunch in his mouth before answering, "To prove I could do it, duh!" Bowser was lying, and Kamek knew him well enough to be able to tell he was, but Bowser still wasn't about to tell Kamek the _real _reason.

He was lonely. He wanted someone his own age, or close enough to play with. Peach wasn't cooperating right now, but sooner or later she would run out of tears and they could play. Bowser put the last of his meal in his mouth and climbed off his chair. He figured Peach would probably appreciate it if he washed his hands, and discreetly made his way to the bathroom to use the sink where Kamek wouldn't see him do it.

As he turned off the sink a sudden voice made him jump. "Hey Bowser! I've been looking all over for you!" The voice belonged to Prince Boo, who floated half in the door half not. The ghost looked at him strangely, "What are you doing?"

Bowser had gotten used to Boo's sudden appearances, and continued to dry his hands and happened to catch his reflection in the mirror and saw what a mess his hair was. "Grooming." Bowser answered, "It's what _living_ royalty does."

"I thought you didn't like that." Boo commented floating closer to Bowser for a better look.

"I don't, but I have to sometimes." Bowser grumbled, suddenly wondering why he had suddenly decided to comb his hair, and since he was in here already, wash his face.

"Huh, whatever, we _dead_ royalty don't have to deal with that stupid stuff." Boo bragged. He turned to him suddenly, "By the way, you'll never believe this, but I just saw a _girl_ in your play room!"

Bowser rolled his eyes at the ghost, "I _know_, stupid, I put her there!"

Boo laughed, "You _put_ her there? _Why?_"

"None of your business, sheet-face, now go away!" Bowser snarled. Boo laughed harder, Bowser felt his headache coming again. Which was worse, Peach with her crying or Boo with his laughing?

Bowser turned toward his compainion and burped a small fireball into Boo's face. Though a ghost, Boo could still feel its heat, and the memory of pain, he yelped and vanished into the wall. "Don't come back!" Bowser warned and turned back to the mirror, wiping his face once more with the towel, and noticing for the first time how hansom he was when he was well groomed. Satisfied with his appearance, Bowser turned and started back to his playroom.

When he opened the door he was greeted by a sight that made his heart almost melt. There Peach was, her face free of tears and a smile on her face as she danced around, playing with his favorite toy. Normally the prince was very possessive of that toy, not even letting Kamek or Kammy touch it, but the sight of Peach with it made him smile. Maybe it was that she finally wasn't crying, and he saw her again as he had only hours ago when he had first laid eyes on her in the courtyard, with her bright blue eyes shining.

Then she noticed him standing in the doorway, and she immediately dropped the toy and promptly started crying again. Bowser rushed over to her, picking up his toy and handing it back to her, "No, no, no, no, no, no." He whispered, "It's alright, you can play with him. Here!" He tried to push the toy back into her hands, but she only dropped it again. "Oh come on, Peach, this is my favorite toy, I want you to play with him!"

She stopped crying at the sound of her name and looked up at him.

Relieved that she had stopped, he smiled at her, "Yeah, that's right, I know your name." He handed the toy back to her gently, and she clutched it gingerly, "Wanna know my name? It's Bowser. Prince Bowser." Peach looked at him, cocking her head slightly.

And then she started crying again.

"Oh come on!" Bowser whined, he flopped on the ground angrily. His eyes started to sting with tears. He tried to hold them back, but they started dripping over his eyelids.

Bowser hated crying, and he especially hated crying in front of other people, but he couldn't help it, the tears started to flow harder and faster, until a small sob escaped his throat. Why wouldn't Peach give him a chance? Why did she have to just cry when ever he came by? What was he doing wrong?

Bowser was so busy crying himself that he failed to notice Peach slow to a stop. The young girl cocked her head at the crying creature, and realized that she'd hurt his feelings. She glanced at the toy in her hands, hadn't he just said it was his favorite? She felt bad suddenly for her behavior and started to creep slowly over to him.

Bowser continued to sob. All he wanted was someone to play with, someone who wasn't old and pruny, or dead, or stupid, or- his thought train came to a crash when he felt a small hand touch his nose. Through teary eyes, Bowser saw Peach standing in front of him, her face inches from his own. She patted his snout comfortingly and passing his toy back into his claws, "Bowsah." She said.

He sniffed loudly, and couldn't help himself, he wrapped his arms around her and sobbed one last loud time. In his arms Peach squealed, not in fear but in delight, her arms snaked around him as best as she could manage and she hugged him back. She wiggled out of his grasp and giggled, picking up another toy of the ground, and made it dance toward Bowser and his toy, singing in a soft gruffy voice.

Bowser laughed and had his toy bump into her's, knocking it off its feet, before his toy proudly boasted its superiority to all other toys. Peach picked her toy back off and gave a valiant, almost practiced speech about how all toys are equal. For the first time Bowser could really recall, he was feeling…Happy, and not just because he had gotten something he wanted, or anything else. He was happy that Peach was happy. And there was something, unique about it, special even. He realized in that moment, that he want Peach to be with him forever.

But the time came for her to go home. Bowser's father was furious, as was a tall human that had appeared at the castle, and though it was painful, Bowser reluctantly gave Peach up. It was the worst day of his childhood, the blow softened only by the simple act of Peach looking back at him, her eyes filled with tears; as sorry to leave as he was.

As years passed, Bowser learned that Peach was not just a girl at the castle, she was a princess, royalty like him. She was too young to remember their play date, by the time he decided he wanted to marry her, but he did, he's never forget. And if he could get her to stop crying once, he could do it again, no matter how long it took. He would make her happy, and they would both be happy.

_Hmm, I don't know, I feel like it got a little corny right there at the end. But I really had no idea how to finish it. Regardless I hope you all like it._


End file.
